Children treated in United States emergency departments for door-related injuries, 1999-2008

Abstract

This is the first study to provide national estimates of pediatric door-related injuries in the United States. Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System were analyzed for patients ≤17 years who were treated in US emergency departments for a door-related injury from 1999 through 2008. An estimated 1 392 451 US children ≤17 years received emergency treatment for door-related injuries, which averages approximately 1 injury every 4 minutes in the United States. Both the frequency and rate of injury increased significantly. Boys accounted for 55.4% of injuries, and 41.6% of children were ≤4 years. The most common mechanism of injury was a "pinch in the door" (54.8%) or an "impact to the door" (42.0%). Patients admitted to the hospital were most frequently treated for amputations (32.0%) or lacerations (25.2%). The frequency of injuries associated with glass doors increased significantly with increasing age, in contrast to injuries from other types of doors.